Thursday, August 25, 2011

Notice something different at the central gable of the school building? Originally a flagpost was prominently placed there when St Michael's was taken over as an army base by the Japanese and British. Old photographs obtained from past issues of school magazines indicate the existence of a post. An inspection was carried out at the balcony last year and amazingly, we noticed three very strong metal flagpost holders being embedded in the concrete portion of the balcony, irrefutably to hold the pole

The two Japanese flag poles placed exactly infront of the central gable and the shorter post at the balcony.

Why was the pole removed? Just like the two Japanese poles now lying idle at the La Salle Centre... "The Japanese Advance troops entered Ipoh on 28 December 1941 and found a ready made shelter at St Michael's Institution. The school was used as "Perak Shu Seicho", the Japanese Government Building in Ipoh. The entire school building was used to house various government offices." - extracted from My Story, 1994.
While memories of the Japanese occupation of the building have long forgotten by many, plaques put up over the years like the ones at the granite staircase and the chapel (State Legislative Council Chambers) somehow remind us of those war years of hardship and great endurance on the part of the Brothers, teachers and students alike.
Another discovery: Two very thick, heavily-rusty flagposts used by army officers during the Japanese era are currently lie in solitary, partially covered by shrubs.Surprisingly, the relics are still in considerably good conditions even after decades of expose to the elements.
These items bear strong historical and heritage significance. They are almost 70 years old and plans are already on to identify the exact location where the poles were placed before they were taken down.

From a post dated October 12, 2009. "After much researching, an old photo, dated back to the 60s', effectively tells the exact position of the poles used by the Japanese and the British. Official and ceremonious gatherings were normally carried out at the centre of the premises, in this case, the central gable of St Michael's. There are two posts, similar to the ones at the La Salle Centre, could be clearly seen standing with great pride. Another one, a shorter pole, is at the balcony. All three had been removed but the stand to hold the smaller pole is still visible.

Majestic.

Fast Forward To August 2011.. The post has been replaced, mainly because of many concerned old boys who feel that originality must take its precedence. It took just five minutes, during a get-together, to raise the fund to acquire the flagpost and flag. A standing ovation for these guys! The school crest, meticulously sewn, is now prominently displayed on the flag. One can easily see the flag from the main road or even the Ipoh Padang. The school flag can actually make us hum the School Rally.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

In keeping with our students’ stage talent development tradition of St. Michael’s, we are staging the “MICHAELIAN TALENTIME 2011” in September this year to raise fund for the academic enhancement of our school’s facilities & building maintenance.

We wish to thank you for your past support towards our annual event which has produced 59 plays and musicals since our first production in 1955. Your past contributions have helped to provide St. Michael’s with facilities befitting its status as one of the premier schools in Malaysia with world class standing.

PIBG Chairman

The Lasallian spirit is still strong in St. Michael’s and we are fully committed to providing all students with access to quality teaching and learning and opportunities to participate in a range of sporting and cultural activities. Much of what we do to achieve this, is of course, due to the active support by our generous donors. All along, the tremendous work of the Board of Governors, the Old Michaelian Association, the Teachers and the Donors have been vital in assisting the PTA provide the kind of educational facilities and experience we want for our students. The enormous success of St. Michael’s have been made possible through the generosity of the Michaelian community.

We appeal to your generosity to support our ‘Michaelian Talentime 2011’ . Your contribution will enable us to continue providing opportunities to all young Michaelians. The PTA, together with other stakeholders will strive to provide exemplary education with your support. We give opportunities to our young for they shape the future of our community. Your support is greatly needed and appreciated.

Kindly write your cheque in favour of :SMI Development Fund. We look forward to your positive response for this meaningful cause.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

As posters and banners are adorning the school now, the atmosphere is felt

Today, posters were being displayed. We had put up at least three buntings for publicity purposes.The parlour is again chosen as the happening place to publicise our Michaelian Talentime. A bigger banner will be placed outside the school in a day or two.
The blogger can be seen hanging some posters at the school parlour. Only now I realise that the ladder was too short and it was quite high up there. Fortunately, three Form One boys came running to help. One to hold the ladder, another two helped to string the posters.
Tomorrow, Wednesday will be another busy day. I will get Form Two boys to assist and search for a taller ladder. More posters will be up then.
Things are running well at St Michael's.
"Cherishing Our Past, Embracing The Future"

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Michaelian Talentime 2011 is gearing for an exciting showdown come 9, 10 and 11 September 2011!! Here are a few shots to show what Michaelians are doing to ensure three successful evenings of showdown.

Brother Matthew Bay personally looks into the development of the Talentime.

Afternoon Session Boys Are Ready To Rock!!

Michaelian Chinese Orchestra members are working hard to ensure a solid performance.

How Serious They Are. The man at the background is a reporter from Sin Chew Daily. This picture has been featured on the newspapers.

Mr Phoon Chong Chee served at St Michael's from November 16, 2005 to August 18, 2011-a tenure of almost 6 years. He started teaching at SMK Seri Tanjung in Kuala Selangor in 1977 before he was transferred to Malay College Kuala Kangsar in January 1985. He was in MCKK for almost 7 years when he was promoted as an afternoon senior assistant at St George's Taiping.

His service was recognised by the Education Ministry when he received a promotion letter in January 1994 - as a senior assistant of students affairs. In April 2004, Mr Phoon was again promoted, this time as senior assistant (administrative) at SMK Kamunting, Perak. His last port of call was to be a principal at St Michael's in 2005.

The Michaelian fraternity expresses our gratitude and appreciation to Mr Phoon Chong Chee for his service here. During his tenure as a head of department, his main contention has always been to the elevation of status of St Michael's in the areas of academic, discipline and sports. In his quest towards these areas, his heart has never forgotten "the last, the lost and the least".

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

The press conference to highlight our programs, Centennial Celebration and Michaelian Talentime, was a huge success. It was attended by Dato Brother Vincent Corkery, Mr Adrian Tsen, Mr Joseph Michael Lee and Mr Phoon Chong Chee.
Also in support of the event, which was held at the La Salle Auditorium, were Brother Matthew Bay, Mr Harneak Singh and Mr Thomas Wong.
Pictures were also taken of the Michaelian Talentime participants at the Main Hall.
We invited pressmen from the local papers and most of them turned up. We thank The Star (Sara), The New Straits Times (Chandran), Ipoh Echo (James Gough), Perak News (Avinesh) and Sin Chew (Kong) for giving your support to St Michael's.

St Michael's celebrates its 100 years in style. Even nature lends a helping hand in ushering in our celebrations. Never before flowers are blooming so beautifully at the school compound. After months of long drought, the heavy rain for the past week even managed to green the field again. As I have said before we are heading for a great year.

St Michael's expressing its appreciation to Executive Director of Riverview Rubber Estates Bhd, Mr Adrian Tsen for hosting our Form Two Crime Prevention members in their study trip to Tanjung Tualang, Perak. Also joining the trip were committee members of OMA who were earlier treated to steamed big prawns and fresh water fish at a restaurant in Tanjung Tualang. The first trip to Riverview was last year.

Tuesday, August 09, 2011

The two masters - Thomas Choo and Timothy Chee. They pose in front of a mural painted by Timothy some 25 years ago. We hope the school will retain the mural for posterity. The other one is near the Marian Library. All the other masterpieces are gone due to age and natural elements.

St Michael's old boys, former teachers, one a Queen's Scout and the other a King's Scout paid a visit to the alma mater for a stroll down memory lane. Master Thomas is a Queen's Scout and Master Timothy, the King's. Both still look very fit, judging from their posture, voice and body weight. Timothy visits the gym without fail every morning while Thomas does what he learnt in school - community service. He regularly goes around helping the poor, giving his time and resources to homes for the disabled and underpriviledged children.

Brotherly bonding - The brothers and Mr Solaiappan, the kacang putih man. They have known each other for almost half a century.

A worker (Mr Ben) fixing the signboard. Looking proudly are two Michaelians.

Symbolically represented on the banner is an old photo of the La Salle Brothers. They represent the tireless efforts and true sacrifices towards education of all Brothers in Malaysia and around the world today. We also credit past and current educators at St Michael's.
Centennial celebrations are only made complete when the current generations of Michaelians and Lasallians are mentioned. The banner rightly portrays the photo of a group of young men looking smart, confident and orderly. These are the traits St Michael's has successfully groomed in its boys and girls - past and present.
My hats off to all Michaelians. We live to witness a great day.
Signing off,
PeterKhiew

Thursday, August 04, 2011

By Wong Kin TungAs a famous educational institution, SMI has cultivated a large number of outstanding talents for nearly a century, talents who have been making contributions to the development of the country and parts of the world. The year 2012 will witness the 100th anniversary of SMI.

It’s a centennial event – only once in 100 years. 100 years of history is a very significant milestone for any institution. Over this period, thousands of students have passed through the portals of this school - and who are now living in various parts of Malaysia and the world; raising families, making invaluable contributions in their respective fields of work and leading meaningful lives. Never forget your alma mater, and where you came from.Once students graduate, they often look to the next phase of their lives, leaving behind their alma mater and forgetting what it took to get them to graduation. Towards this end, the alumni can play an enormous role in an institution. They can support scholarships, give monies toward the operating budget, to fund innovative retention programs and volunteer in helpful ways.A series of programmes should be planned in the run-up to the school's 100th-year anniversary in 2012, including a fundraising 100th Anniversary Homecoming Dinner for its planned multi-purpose hall.At the same time, the school must preserve its ethos for it to make a distinction and excel through the ages, and the preservation of the culture and tradition of the school is important for it to retain its prestige and excellence. It was rather disheartening to get to know that the tradition of dramas discontinued this year, and replaced by a talent event.During the 100th year anniversary next year, we celebrate the thousands of Michaelians it has educated and nurtured. We also celebrate the teachers who have served the school with dedication and commitment. Most of all, we celebrate the school, which has contributed immensely to nation-building.Without the necessary funding, the school community would never be able to afford to construct a new multipurpose hall. It will be an impossible dream. (I’m sure nothing is impossible for the school – look at the new primary school building!). This is not a small amount of money, but SMI is confident that through the strong support of everyone including the community members – we will be able to raise the required amount.If you had a great time and appreciate what SMI did to make you who you are today, then join the effort to make the project a possibility and contribute financially and volunteer with your alma mater. Your donations, no matter how insignificant they might seem to you is appreciated. Indirectly, you are also investing in the future of nation-building, especially the young ones.

Tuesday, August 02, 2011

The banner we put up to welcome Brother Visitor Edmundo.
It is now kept at the Michaelian Heritage Gallery to commemorate the visit.

Brother Visitor Edmundo Fernandez made an official working visit to St Michael's on July 20, 2011 at 7.30am, meeting up with the teachers and students at the assembly ground. He was accompanied by Dato' Brother Vincent Corkery, Brother Thomas Lavin, Brother Anthony Rogers and Brother Matthew Bay.

Brother Visitor addressing fellow Michaelians.

Brother Edmundo is currently serving under the newly-formed LEAD which stands for Lasallian East Asia District, which covers seven countries - Hong Kong, Japan, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia, each headed by a Sector Director.Previously, the region of Pacific Asia was named PARC region, one of the six regions in the Lasallian world.

PARC was later reconstituted with the inauguration of a new district known as the Lasallian East Asia District (LEAD).The name LEAD was chosen after a period of consultation of all the Brothers in each Sector, the Alliance Council, and the General Council. At the meeting, Brother Edmundo Fernandez was appointed Brother Visitor while Brother Thomas Lavin holds the post as the Auxillary Visitor. Brother Anthony Rogers is the Sector Director for Malaysia and his office is based at the La Salle Provincialate in Petaling Jaya. The new Provincial offices forLEAD is located at La Salle College, Kowloon, Hong Kong.

LEAD was launched in Singapore on May 15, 2011 while Malaysia inaugurated the new district in a simple yet significant ceremony at the La Salle University Hall in Petaling Jaya on May 21, 2011.

OUR GUIDING PRINCIPLES

3. RESPECT, DISCIPLINE, ORDER - That's what we advocate at St Michael's Ipoh.

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OUR ILLUSTRIOUS ALMA MATER

SMI THEME 2016 “EMPOWERING VALUES, STRENGTHENING TRADITION”

We aspire to establish a school community characterised by the importance of our values and tradition, emphasizing on personal relationships, character formation and personal integrity.

At St Michael’s Institution, we guide and empower our students to be well-mannered individuals, give proper respect to other people and to foster a school experience which is truly of La Sallian tradition.

We are responsible to teach students about honesty, responsibility, discipline and other important traits that make them upstanding citizens.

SMI Theme 2015 Harnessing Potential, Nurturing Character

Michaelians recognise our own strengths, skills and interests. Harnessing your potentials requires you to get to know yourself – what inspires you, what moves you and what you really love doing so that you can pursue your dreams in life. Similarly, nurturing of these virtues and characters – trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship is instrumental to produce competent, wholesome and compassionate adults

THEME 2014 :ONWARD MICHAELIANS UNITED & TRUE

As Michaelians, we are strong when we are united and true. United means we do not stand alone, we stand together. We learn to do within our class, where we make sure no one is left out or left behind. To have strong class spirit, we make sure everyone is part of the group. In this way we are not only UNITED but also TRUE, true to our ourselves and true to each other.

A Century Of Faith, Service & Community

The School Rally - It Unites Michaelians

All through our College a voice is resounding,Promptly respond to your duty's sweet call.Hearken you all for the trumpet is sounding,Your Mater's proclaiming her watchword to all.

Forward, her children dear,Ever with hearts sincere,Render with joy to your Mater her due;All that is vile reject;

Heaven will e'er protect,Sons of St. Michael's

Valiant and true.

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CHERISHING OUR PAST - REMEMBERING OUR BROTHERS

The Visit Of The Honorable Bro. Nicet-Joseph, Superior General of The Brothers To SMI on July 1, 1962, Golden Jubilee of SMI. To remember his visit, the Nicet Joseph Medal for the Michaelian of the Year was awarded for the first time in 1962.